304 Stainless Steel Bottom Cooking Grate for 18.5" Weber Smokers


 

Chris Allingham

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Please Note: The product originally discussed in this thread is no longer available on Amazon. As a result, I've deleted the links to it.

Best,
Chris

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304 Stainless Steel Bottom Cooking Grate for 18.5" Weber Smokers

The Lower Cooking Grate that the 18.5 Weber Smokey Mountain Deserves

  • 17 inch 304 Stainless Steel Grate
  • Replaces the lower cooking grate on an 18.5 Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker
  • Can also be used as the charcoal grate on 22.5 inch Weber kettles
  • HEAVY DUTY 5 mm rods

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David Somerville was kind enough to send me one of these bottom grill grates for evaluation purposes. I received it today from Amazon and have not cooked on it yet, but wanted to share a few initial impressions.

In terms of size, David's grate appears to be spot-on when compared to the stock Weber bottom cooking grate. Both are just shy of 17" in diameter...16-7/8".

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Weber stock grate (left) and David's stainless steel grate (right).

In terms of weight, David's stainless steel grate is 11+ ounces heavier than the stock grate. However, the difference between these two grates is not as noticeable as it is between his stainless steel top grate and Weber's stock top grate--a difference of 2 lb 3+ ounces!

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Weber stock bottom grate

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David's replacement bottom grate

In terms of construction, David's grate has 27 bars with two support bars below that are spaced 5" apart. Weber's grate has 21 bars with two support bars below that are spaced 2.5" apart.

In terms of "fit and finish", my sample of David's grate has two small issues: 1) The bars are not cut flush to the edge of the hoop; and 2) The grate is not as flat as the Weber grate--it moves up and down slightly when you push on one side of the grate or the other. Neither of these things impact how the grate fits in the WSM, and to be fair, it should be noted that Weber stock grates are sometimes not perfectly flat, either.

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Weber grate with flush cut bars (left) vs. David's grate with bars extending past edge of hoop (right).

All in all, I'd give this grate a "B+"; if the bars were properly trimmed, I'd give it an "A".
 
Looks like one could even out the protruding edges with a small grinder since there is no coating to deal with.
 
Looks like one could even out the protruding edges with a small grinder since there is no coating to deal with.

Yes, you could.

It might catch a scrubber or drying towel if you're the grate washing type, otherwise I don't think it will have any effect on performance as-is.
 
The lower cooking grate on my WSM has handles. I see that the replacement that you're commenting on does not have handles. Do you consider this a negative, or a non-issue?
 
The lower cooking grate on my WSM has handles. I see that the replacement that you're commenting on does not have handles. Do you consider this a negative, or a non-issue?

For me, a non-issue. The WSM didn't have handles on the lower cooking grate from 1981-2013. Weber added them in 2014.
 
This is the best Grate Period if you intend to get a grate for your Kettles i have mine for few months now and Chris it the BoMB anyone looking to get a grate THIS IS THE BEST heavy duty in also bought the Duell basket
jerr7
 
Do they make a stainless steel grate for the 22" Performer or QTG? I ask because I didn't see it on the site.

Thanks,
Rolf
 
Thank you! I'll keep watching. Otherwise I saw this. Pricey but looks good............
https://www.etsy.com/listing/466629586/215-round-flip-up-bbq-stainless-grill?ref=related-3

Just a note to say I ended up buying the hinged grate from the Etsy site. It arrived this afternoon and I couldn't be happier. The welds look excellent and there are no sharp edges. It looks like everything has been finished by hand. The hinge assemblies are well fitted and lay flat. I have the gourmet sear plate and griddle so while there is no cut-out for the insert, I suspect each will work fine just sitting on top of the grate. I'll let you know. Bottom line for me..... no more rust!
 
For anyone looking for a Stainless Steel bottom cooking grate for their 18" WSM, I purchased this one:

18" WSM Stainless Steel Bottom cooking grate

In my opinion it is a heavy duty, high quality item that fits the WSM perfectly.

I also purchased this Stainless Steel top cooking grate:

18" WSM Stainless Steel Top cooking grate

In my opinion, this is also a heavy duty, high quality item that fits the WSM perfectly.


FYI - for anyone checking this, at least on my ~2009 WSM, this grate is very slightly too small to use on the lower level. It's possible for it to slide off one of the 4 supporting legs. It's usable but not ideal.
 

 

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